Next Nashville Storytellers to highlight the fight of 5 amazing women

When Beth DeBauche was named commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference in 2009, she became the first female to hold that role in OVC history of the OVC. She shares her journey in sports at the next Nashville Storytellers on Dec. 3.
Jessica Bliss

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Metro Nashville police officer Cecilia Gomez joined the force to help victims of human trafficking. She will share what inspired her journey at the next Nashville Storytellers on Dec. 3.(Photo: Autumn Allison/The Tennessean)Buy Photo

Tiana Clark emcees an open mic night after leading a workshop at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville. Clark is a poet and a Master of Fine Arts candidate at Vanderbilt University. Joe Buglewicz / For The Tennessean

Nashville Storyteller Lawanda Mckinnon talks of behavioral issues with her son as she addresses the stigma of mental illness through sharing of her personal experiences
Monday Sept. 24, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. Larry McCormack / tennessean

It’s been more than a decade since Alana Raybon, a schoolteacher and mother of three, converted to Islam, and she describes the transformation as “one of the happiest times of my life.” Larry McCormack / The Tennessean

Interior designer Kate Mills, who'll talk about her struggles as co-founder of the nationally-hyped shop Old Made Good speaks at the Nashville Storytellers event at the Nashville Farmers' Market April 25, 2016 in Nashville, Tenn. Samuel M. Simpkins / The Tennessean

Mignon Francois of The Cupcake Collection sits with her granddaughter after telling her story at the Noah Liff Opera Center during Nashville Storytellers: Behind the Kitchen Doors on Monday, May 22, 2017 in Nashville, Tenn. Ayrika Whitney/USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

Dr. Jessica Young speaks during the "Nashville Storytellers: Through Hell and Back - Stories of addiction and recovery" event at the Blair School of Music, Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. Young runs VanderbiltÕs Drug Dependency Clinic for pregnant women. Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean

Audience members react during the "Nashville Storytellers: Through Hell and Back - Stories of addiction and recovery" event at the Blair School of Music, Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean

Audience members react during the "Nashville Storytellers: Through Hell and Back - Stories of addiction and recovery" event at the Blair School of Music, Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean

Trina Frierson speaks during the "Nashville Storytellers: Through Hell and Back - Stories of addiction and recovery" event at the Blair School of Music, Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. Frierson is a recovering crack addict with 20 years of sobriety. Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean

Audience members react during the "Nashville Storytellers: Through Hell and Back - Stories of addiction and recovery" event at the Blair School of Music, Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean

Betty Mason speaks during the "Nashville Storytellers: Through Hell and Back - Stories of addiction and recovery" event at the Blair School of Music, Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. Mason and her husband, Bruce, saw their 19-year-old daughter die from a drug overdose in May. Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean

Audience members react during the "Nashville Storytellers: Through Hell and Back - Stories of addiction and recovery" event at the Blair School of Music, Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean

Dr. Jessica Young speaks during the "Nashville Storytellers: Through Hell and Back - Stories of addiction and recovery" event at the Blair School of Music, Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. Young runs VanderbiltÕs Drug Dependency Clinic for pregnant women. Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean

Actress Jenna von Oy looks back on her stint as sidekick Six on popular 1990s sitcom "Blossom" as she speaks at the Nashville Storytellers event at the Nashville Farmers' Market April 25, 2016 in Nashville, Tenn. Samuel M. Simpkins / The Tennessean

Actress Jenna von Oy looks back at her stint as sidekick Six on popular 1990s sitcom "Blossom" during the Nashville Storytellers event at the Nashville Farmers' Market April 25, 2016 in Nashville, Tenn. Samuel M. Simpkins / The Tennessean

Interior designer Kate Mills, co-founder of the nationally-hyped shop Old Made Good talks with host Brad Schmitt at the Nashville Storytellers event at the Nashville Farmers' Market April 25, 2016 in Nashville, Tenn. Samuel M. Simpkins / The Tennessean

How to attend the next Nashville Storytellers event Amazing Women

Tickets: $20, includes one complimentary signature cocktail and appetizers. The Tennessean will make a $500 donation to a local Nashville charity that focuses on helping women and girls. Thanks to community support, Nashville Storytellers has donated nearly $6,000 to local charities since 2016.

Lakisha Simmons never considered college. No one in her family had ever been. Now, she's a university professor and an advocate for young women like she once was as founder of the Period Project. She will speak at the next Nashville Storytellers.
Jessica Bliss

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Cicela Hernandez was bullied, then became a bully. It took a teacher to notice and step to help her find solace from depression and abuse.
Ayrika L Whitney, The Tennessean

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When Vui Hunt was a young girl, new to America, she felt lost. People said she was shy. Here’s how food helped her find her voice — and the confidence to share her story.
Kyleah Starling, Aryika Whitney/ USA Today Network - Tennessee

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The day after Clark and her mom moved to Nashville, they awoke to find two nooses hanging on the back porch of their apartment. Clark, who is biracial, grew up to become an award-winning poet who often explores issues of race in her writing. “I see m
Kyleah Starling, Ayrika Whitney/The Tennessean

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Her mother is South Korean, her father, Sicilian. As a little girl, Masulla never knew she was different from the other kids – until a boy in her class walked up pulling at the corners of his eyes with his fingers. The boy asked why she looked so dif
Kyleah Starling, Ayrika Whitney/The Tennessean

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She was raised in a loving African Methodist Episcopal church family. Raybon felt welcomed, but she never got that whole Trinity thing, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. So Raybon explored other faiths, and she ended up converting to Islam, a move that
Kyleah Starling, Ayrika Whitney/The Tennessean